All The World's A Stage
by AliceAxel399
Summary: When all the world's a stage, the best actor is hard to find. In Sasuke's case, Sakura Haruno would be his best actor. Because of Sasuke's 'playboy' ways, the branches of his clan oppose his succession. With the help of the beautiful actor, Sakura, Sasuke plans to deceive the branches and become clan head. Will this play end with a professional success or an unexpected love?


**All The World's A Stage**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, it wouldn't be this popular.**

Quote of the Day: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." –As You Like It (William Shakespeare)

~#*#~

Although it was an early morning, the sound of muted thunder and falling rain filled the dark hotel room. A smell of musk, perfume, and sweat filled the air. Suddenly, a spark of light illuminated the room.

Sasuke carefully lit the cigarette he skillfully held in his mouth. A moment later, he sighed out a cloud of smoke. Hearing the sound he emitted, the small feminine figure beside him lifted her head and flipped her brunette hair away from her face. Staring up at Sasuke, she smiled seductively.

"Good morning, Sasuke," the woman slurred. She slowly placed her hand onto Sasuke's chest and began tracing unrecognizable patterns onto stiff muscle. Sasuke only nodded her way to acknowledge her greeting but did not speak a word. A few more moments passed until Sasuke extracted the woman's hand from his chest and stood up from the bed. After stubbing out his cigarette, he slowly retrieved his clothing that was scattered on the floor due to last night's activities and began to dress himself.

The woman also sat up, not bothering to cover herself up. She frowned as she stared at Sasuke slipping into his button shirt.

"Are you coming back next week?" she asked hopefully. Sasuke paused in his work of buttoning up his shirt and turned his head slightly to her direction.

"No," he stiffly replied.

"Oh, it's okay! It doesn't have to be next week! You can call me whenever you want to see me a-"

"We're done. This is it," Sasuke quipped, successfully cutting her off. He took his box of cigarettes and trashed it. Quickly, he grabbed his jacket near the door and threw it on. The woman stitched her eyebrows together and frowned deeply.

"Can't you wait until the storm passes?" the woman pressed on, her voice slowly hardening. She wasn't going to let him get away this easily. By then, Sasuke had already opened the entrance door.

"Goodbye," Sasuke uttered and then he shut the door.

While driving away from the hotel, Sasuke realized that he didn't even remember the woman's name.

~#*#~

Naruto grunted in annoyance when he looked at his watch for the thousandth time. He was swinging himself on the porch swing in front of Sasuke's house. Currently, Naruto was contemplating the thought of just leaving and heading home. The rain hasn't let up and he is just sitting out in the freezing cold. Catching a cold is not worth waiting for Sasuke Uchiha. He'll just have to talk to Sasuke at the company later in the morning.

When Naruto stood up with intentions of leaving, a sleek black BMW rolled into the driveway. Sighing in relief, Naruto seated himself again and decided to wait for Sasuke to come to him.

Although rain drops were obscuring his vision, he was sure that the blonde-haired man sitting on his porch was Naruto. His eyebrows raised in subtle surprise. It was only six o' clock in the morning. Nonetheless, he'll just have to find out what the blonde idiot wants.

Quickly exiting his car and jogging onto the porch, Sasuke tried to avoid getting soaked as much as possible. He ignored Naruto's disapproving glare as he shook rain water from himself.

"Where were you, Sasuke?" Naruto demanded as he crossed his arms. "You were out the entire night, huh?" Sasuke continued ignoring Naruto. He just fished out his keys and unlocked his front door.

"Don't tell me you were out with that one blonde girl again. Wait, you broke ties with her two weeks ago. Was it the girl with the black hair?" Naruto interrogated, slightly annoyed with Sasuke's lack of response. "No, wait," Naruto continued. "It was the brunette. I'm sure of it. Your jacket reeks of her perfume." Sasuke stared at Naruto with a nonplussed look.

"Good morning to you too, Naruto. Would you care for a cup of coffee?" Sasuke asked mockingly. The blonde was grating his nerves and the best thing to do was to shut him up with coffee.

"Well, then. Don't mind if I do," Naruto replied. Sasuke grunted and left Naruto to close the door after himself. Sasuke slid his jacket off his shoulders and let the warmth of his home embrace him. Satisfied, he went to the kitchen and started his coffee machine.

Sasuke leaned onto the counter and began to rub his temples. Naruto walked into the kitchen and lifted himself onto the counter opposite of Sasuke.

"Naruto, you're a grown man. Get off out the countertop," Sasuke ordered with an annoyed tone.

"You're a grown man too, but that doesn't stop you from shrugging off your responsibilities," Naruto retorted. Sasuke sighed.

"I'm not in the mood for this talk again," Sasuke announced. He felt a headache starting to seize his brain.

"No, Sasuke. I'm going to keep lecturing you," Naruto concluded. "What you're doing is irresponsible and childish. Are you a horny teenager or something? How many girls has it been this month? Three? Four? You're not even interested. It's just purely physical!"

"Exactly, Naruto. Purely physical. No emotions involved. Even if they do get hurt, it's their fault. I made it clear from the start that my commitment is not involved," Sasuke snapped.

"You're such an asshole, Sasuke. You're just playing them," Naruto argued. Sasuke didn't like the road this conversation is taking.

"Naruto!" Sasuke warned. Suddenly, beeping came from the coffee machine signaling that the coffee was ready. Sasuke exhaled deeply and turned away from the conversation to pour some cups of coffee.

Naruto decided to leave Sasuke alone and let the built up tension dissipate. When Sasuke placed a warm cup of coffee next to him, Naruto gratefully took a sip out of it. After a while, the silence was finally broken by Naruto.

"Anyways, Sasuke, I wasn't here to talk to you about this," Naruto began. "There have been rumors that your father is coming back to visit the company soon." Sasuke froze.

"What?" Sasuke asked. It was about a year ago when his father stepped down from the CEO throne of Uchiha Corp. and named Sasuke the successor. Sasuke went through many difficult trials made by his father to prove that he had the ability to take over. Each trial was conquered but the relationship between father and son was never on good terms to start with. Although Sasuke received his father's respect, their relationship didn't improve. Shortly afterwards, Sasuke's father moved back to their manor and decided to spend the rest of his life there. However, it seems like he'll be coming back.

"Hey, don't worry, Sasuke. It's just a rumor," Naruto assured, noticing Sasuke's scowl. "I just wanted you to know. He has no reason to return…right?"

"You never know with him," was all Sasuke had to say. When he noticed Naruto's rare silence, he narrowed his eyes. "Was that all you had to tell me?" Sasuke inquired.

"That's it," Naruto claimed while taking a long sip of his coffee.

"Did you really need to come over so early in the morning just to tell me this?" Sasuke asked with slight irritation.

"Yes. I also wanted to be served world-class coffee by Sasuke Uchiha. Seriously, who else could say that?" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke snorted in disbelief but smirked nonetheless.

In reality, Sasuke couldn't push the slightly disarming rumor out of his mind.

~#*#~

Thankfully, the troubling rumors were put to rest the moment Sasuke and Naruto walked into the company.

However, not in the way that Sasuke had wanted.

As Sasuke and Naruto walked into the company, all the workers began to whisper and murmur. Sasuke scowled at the response to his entrance but decided to pay no mind to their arbitrary ramblings. On the other hand, Naruto caught a few of the words being whispered back and forth between the workers.

"…he came back…"

"His father…after a year…"

"…something must have happened…"

Naruto's eyes widened at their words. He suddenly felt that he jinxed the whole rumor this morning.

Before Sasuke and Naruto could reach the elevator, a small voice stopped them.

"Mr. Uchiha," the small voice said. Sasuke and Naruto turned around and saw a dark blue haired woman holding a few files.

"Hinata," Naruto blurted in surprise. Hinata blushed but smiled kindly.

"Good morning, Naruto," she replied a bit shyly. Naruto smiled back.

"You needed me, Hinata?" Sasuke asked, breaking up the smile party. He didn't have time for a blush fest.

"Oh, yes. Currently, your father is up in your office. He wishes to speak to you as soon as you go up there," Hinata informed. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. He looked at Naruto. Naruto shrugged and that response drew a scowl out of the Uchiha.

"And also," Hinata added, "He asked for Sasuke alone."

"Okay, I'll stay here with you then," Naruto obliged. Naruto looked at Sasuke one more time, wishing him the best of luck.

"Hinata, did my father say what this is about?" Sasuke asked as a final question.

"Not a word about it," was her response. Sasuke clicked his tongue and immediately walked to the elevator.

"This is not good," Naruto murmured as Sasuke entered the elevator and went up to meet his father.

~#*#~

"You have got to be kidding me," Sasuke growled as he impatiently waited to reach the floor of his office.

The fact that his father came to visit the company did not anger him at all. Surprisingly, it was his own response that irritated him. Sasuke spent most of his life trying to appease his father's wishes, from getting the best grades to becoming his company's successor. The idea of his father disarming him with this surprise visit slightly angers him. Of course, he couldn't let his father know how he is feeling about this. However, putting on a front doesn't make what he is feeling any less real.

When the elevator doors opened, Sasuke quickly walked out and went to his office's door. Without a pause, he barged inside.

Sasuke's eyes quickly found his father, standing and staring out of the glass wall in the office. Fugaku Uchiha seemed engrossed by the busy city below his view. Even though Fugaku left a year ago, Sasuke noticed that he seemed like he didn't age a day.

Sasuke noticed that his office was the same as it always was. However, a woman seemed to be sitting in one of his (usually empty) chairs. Straight away, he noticed that the woman had pastel pink hair.

'_Natural?'_ Sasuke asked himself. He shook his head slightly to his own question. Because she was seated facing his table, he could not see her face.

"Ah, Ms. Haruno," Fugaku addressed. "It seems that my youngest son has arrived."

"Father, what are you doing here?" asked Sasuke with a angered tone. Fugaku turned around.

"Good morning, Sasuke," Fugaku greeted, ignoring Sasuke's question. "I have some news for you." Hearing that, Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"From now on," Fugaku continued, "you are relieved of your duties as CEO of Uchiha Corp., and you will move back to the Uchiha Manor."

"What?!" Sasuke demanded.

"You can pick one of your supervisors to take your place. It doesn't really matter to me," Fugaku explained. Sasuke was becoming irritated with the way his father was ignoring his inquiries.

"Why, father? I can't just leave without a justified reason," Sasuke argued firmly.

"Your father demands it of you. That is your justified reason," Fugaku interjected with a scowl. Sasuke took a deep breath and stood still waiting for a better explanation. Seeing that his son calmed down, Fugaku sat down.

"I'm planning to make you the head of our clan," Fugaku announced. Shock flashed across Sasuke's face for a second. "Your older brother, Itachi, was supposed to become head but he refused, saying that you would be the better choice. I have thought about it and I do believe he is right."

"What does that have to do with taking me away from my job?" Sasuke questioned firmly.

"Many people oppose my choice," Fugaku stated. Sasuke raised one of his eyebrows. "It seems that many branches of the clan found out about your 'playboy' ways and do not approve of your succession. Therefore, I am bringing you home. Taking this as a chance to bring the downfall of the head family, the branches are setting up trials to test you. Besides, they want their own children to take control of the clan. However, I'm not saying that I don't agree with them when it comes to your responsibility."

Sasuke braced himself for the lecture he was about to receive.

"You are an adult, Sasuke," Fugaku gravely began. "Start acting like one. Responsibility is everything. If you cannot even be responsible in such a trivial matter, how can I trust you with being clan head? You need to settle down." Fugaku paused and cleared his throat. "This is where Ms. Haruno comes in."

Sasuke glanced towards the woman in the chair. Although he had stepped closer to his father during his anger, he noticed that he still could not see her face.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, suddenly wary of the woman.

"From now on, Ms. Sakura Haruno will pose as your lover," Fugaku explained. Sasuke looked at his father in disbelief, then to the woman with surprise.

"Father, I object. If this is one of your ploys to make me fall in love and settle down, it's not going to work. I'll choose when it's time. I'll-"

"Nobody said that love would be involved," a feminine voice said, cutting off Sasuke's sentence. The woman stood up and turned towards Sasuke.

The first thing Sasuke noticed were her eyes. They were a jaded green, so soft yet sharp, that he felt they were staring into his soul. He wasn't going to deny himself by saying that she wasn't attractive. Her posture was perfect. She seemed tall, lean, and fit. He would gladly admire her characteristics under different circumstances. Right now isn't the right time.

"Hello, Sasuke," Sakura greeted with a smirk. "I'm Sakura Haruno. I'm a professional actor, striving writer, and somebody who's better than you." She delivered a perfect smile but her eyes were intimidating. Sasuke raised his eyebrows at her words and was surprised when he heard his father's rare chuckle.

"Yes, now I remember why I chose you, Sakura," Fugaku claimed.

~#*#~

Chapter one done! Did you like it? Tell me all about it. I was inspired in the middle of the night to write this. I seriously woke up at 2 AM, turned on my computer, and started typing like a psycho. I just hope it turns out as good as I hope it to be. :) Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.


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